Internal combustion engine



Sept. 4, 1934. B. c. 'STICKNEY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE .Filed July 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 1934- B. C. ST|CKNEY 1,972,115

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 In vehfor:

p B. c. STICKNEY 1,972,115

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept? 1934- B. c. STICKNEY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 4, 1934 UNETED STATES PATENT oFFics Claims.

19 quick charging of the pump is secured. The

efficiency of the pump is increased. It secures an ample charge andperhaps doubles or triples its pressure, to a point insuring quick feed to the engine at high speed thereof; and the engine can be run at a higher rate than is common in four-cycle engines if unprovided with chargers. The pump, however, is not limited for use with twocycle engines.

Upon the up stroke of the pump-piston, the

the major portion of the up stroke, but opens in time to prevent the pressure in the pump from becoming objectionably excessive. The charge expands somewhat into the passage which con-' nects the pump to the engine-cylinder; but the engine-port still remains closed by the enginepiston. The higher the speed for which the engine is designed, the more the pressure of the charge may be raised, so as to expand with the required great celerity in the engine-cylinders. Provision may be made of a pocket or enlargement in said passage, if it is desired to avoid o -iercompression the charge by the pump.

When the compressed charge reaches the engine, it scavenges first the intake-cylinder and then the exhaust-cylinder, with very little mixing of fresh gas with spent gas, as the. intakepcrt may be formed so that it Will closeat the 4:6 desired point, in advance of theclosing of the exhaust-port; so that the fuel gas has opportunity to expand and drive out more of the spent gas after the intake-port closes and beforethe exhaust-port closes. 5 Other features and after appear.

In the accompanying drawings.

advantages will hereinor diagrams,

Figure l is a sectional plan of the row of engine-heads seen at Figure 3. Figure 2 is a plan of an engine-head with'the detachable tops removed. a

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevationof a power-plant.

Figure 4 is a sectional front elevation taken 5 through the pumps.

delivery portof the pump remains clcxsed for Figure 5 is a sectional front elevation taken through the engine-cylinders.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation through the pumps, and Figure 7 is a sectional elevation through the engine-cylinders of an engine having twelve power-cylinders and six pumps.

Figure 8 is a sectional plan, and Figure 9 is a sectional longitudinal elevation of the form of engine shown in Figures 6 and, 7.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, there are employed eight cylinders inosculated in. pairs, each pair includingan intake-cylinder 20 and an exhaustcylinder 21, side by side, having a common explosion-chamber or inosculation 22. Pistons 23, 24, are connected by rods and pivots 19 to wrists 2'7, 28 of a two-throw crank-shaft 29. At Figure 3 is shown a row of four cylinders, consisting of two pairs. There are shown at' Figure 5 two of these rows, each row being separated from the next by an angle of degrees. There are four evenly spaced explosions for each revolution of the crank-shaft.

To each crank-wrist 27, 28 are articulated four rods, connecting it to four pistons, working in four cy1inders,- radiating in the two directions seen at Figure 5. Half of the engine-pistons in each row are connected to one crank-wrist and half to the other. Each row is sub-divided into two pairs, the engine-pistons in one pair 7 moving as a unit in the opposite direction from the engine-pistons in the other pair in the same row.

The cylinders in each pair form an enginehead 33 as seen at Figure'3, two engine-heads in each row, the engine-heads being in echelon arrangement. The heads in each radial row may all be cast in two nearly similar blocks.

Every down strokeof each piston is a powerstroke, thus placing this simple engine on a par with the eight-cylinder four-throw, four-cycle engine, with its sixteen valves, of the prior art. In other words, there are as many impulses for each revolution as can be obtained in the common eight-cylinder, four-throw,- four-cycle engine.

In each revolution, each pair of engine-pistons is arrested twice, this arrest occurring at the opposite end of the stroke from the other pair in the same row, Figure 3; there being twoarrests in each row at each revolution, making in each revolution four arrests altogether in the entire system of engine-pistons. These four arrests oc'- cur at intervals of ninety degrees for smooth running, and the engine is moreover evenlydriven by means ofthe four evenly spaced impulses at each revolution.

The crank-shaft may be cut from a cylindrical bar to form the crank-wrists and the journals, leaving uncut portions of original diameter to serve as cranks and fly-wheels, and also leaving similar portions 4? at each side of the midway journals 29 for a similar purpose. Upon each crank-pin may be placed a thin-wa1led split bearing collar or sleeve cs, Figure 9, to reduce friction between the piston-rods and the wrists.

row of engine-cylinders is provided with a pair of pumps 61, 52, which pump charges of mixed gas and air from a carburetor (not shown) through a manifold 50. Each of the pumps in each row is in the form of an extension of its engine-head. One pump-piston 52 serves the left-hand engine-cylinders 20, 21 at Figure 5, and

the other pump-piston 53 serves the right-handv engine-cylinders 25, 21.

These pump-pistons are driven means of eccentric-straps 5e and rods 5% from eccentrics 55, 58 which may be formed upon the crank-shaft. The eccentrics are placed between the midway shaftbearings 29, andconduce to compactness in that they permit relative shortness of the crankshaft. The pump-eccentric 55 is diametrically opposite the enginecrank-wrist 27, and hence the forcing or up stroke of the pump-piston 52 occurs during the explosion or down strokes of the pistons 23, 24.

During said up strokes of 52 or 53 the drawnin charge of mixed gas and air is put under pressure, and finally this compressed charge spurts through inlet-ports 55 in the bottom of the engine-cylinder 29, just as said inlet-ports are uncovered at the conclusion of the down stroke of the intakeengine-piston 23. Upon the succeeding down stroke of the pump-piston 52 or 53, said ports 55 remain closed, so that such down stroke of piston 52 creates a partial vacuum in the pump-cylinder 61. Near the bottom of the pumpstroke, ports 59 are opened, and a charge enters from the manifold 50.

During the just-mentioned down stroke of pump-piston 52, the companion pump-piston 53' in cylinder 62 rises and forces theprevidusly-inspired charge to spurt through ports 55 into the intake-cylinder 25 in the other engine-head, and to expel spent gases through inosculation 22 and through exhaust-cylinder 21' and exhaust-port or passage 57.

Each pump-cylinder may be closed by means of a detachable cap 64.

A manifold opens into the pumps, having branches 61 which open into chests 67 cast on the pump-walls and extending partly around the same, and communicating by intake-ports 59 with the interiors of the pumps. The entering mixed gas and air passes into the chest 67 and-then enters the indrawing pump through the intakeport or ports 59.

On the next up stroke, the charge is compressed. As soon as the engine-ports are open, the compressed mixture expands and drives through an outlet or passage in the pump and thence into a shallow compartment '72, which surrounds the intake-en.ginecylinder 20 and communicates therewith by means of intake-ports 55.

The combined cubic capacity of all clearances is preferably equal to only a fraction of the cubic displacement of the pump-piston, so that the pressure of the previously pumped-in charge may be raised for example to 10, 20, 3o poundsor more per square inch at every up stroke of the pumppiston, so as to provide the charge with sufficient energy for instantly driving out the spent charge from the adjoining inosculated cylinders.

The necessary cubic displacement of each pump-piston 52, 53 (which preferably has the same length of stroke as the engine-pistons) may be provided for by making the diameter of the pump-piston considerably larger than that of the engine-piston, as illustrated. The pump-piston displacement may be equal or slightly more than equal to the displacement of two engine-pistons combined, so that one stroke of the pump-piston may be substantially sufficient to charge both inosculated engine-cylinders. The exhaust charge may be all, or nearly all, driven out through the port 5'7, with a minimum of mixing exhaust gas with fresh gas; this clearness being secured by having reasonably high initial pressure of the compressed charge which spurts through the port 55 and becomes reduced nearly to atmospheric pressure, if the engine is running very slowly, by the time that the exhaust-port 57 is closed by the rising piston 24. It will be understood that the compressed gas may have sufiiciently high initial pressure to insure instant elimination of the exhaust gas without waste of fresh gas. If it is desired to run the engine slowly when the load is small, then the usual butterfly throttle (not shown), which supplies the manifold 50, may be suiiiciently closed so that the low-pressure charge drawn in by the pump-piston does not have time to rise to atmospheric pressure, but may still remain at say 10 or 12 pounds absolute pressure when the inlets 59 have been closed by the rising piston 52. Under such partly throttled condition, the piston 52 must under such conditions rise considerably more in order to bring the pressure of the charge up equal to atmospheric. Thereafter, during the relatively small remainder of its stroke, the piston cannot raise the pressure very high. Hence a relatively small charge of gas will enter the engine-cylinder through the ports 55, and a comparatively small quantity of burned gas will be expelled from the inosculated cylinders, thus reducing the charge of 1 resh gas when it is desired for the engine to idle or run light, or when the load is light.

According to Figure 4, a carburetor 93 may communicate with a manifold 50, having branches 51 for the different rows of engine-heads; each branch having a sub-branch 95 to the two engineheads in the row. Each sub-branch may open into a chest 67 formed on the front or back of the pump-cylinder 61 or 62; each pump-cylinder having its intake-ports 59 opening into said chest, which may extend about half-way around the pump at the bottom of the working chamber thereof.

In each pump-piston is a port or longitudinal passage 9'7 opening at the top and extending downwardly for about the effective length of the piston. In the rear pump 61 at Figures 3 and 9, the bottom outlet or port 98 of the pistonpassage is closed by the wall of the pump; but in the forward pump, in which the piston is in its top position, said port 98 opens into passage 70, f.

and thence into the compartment '72 which surrounds the intake engine-cylinder 20, and through the ports 55 into the engine-cylinder.

It will be understood that during the down stroke of the pump-piston, its port 98 is closed ,4-

for about threefourths of the stroke, and hence a high vacuum is induced in the pump, so that when the supply-ports 59 open, a charge forces itself in instantly, so that the latter may be filled with a charge at about atmospheric pressure by '13- vbalance the wrist 28, etc. therefore be readily secured.

the time the port 59 is again closed. Thereupon the. charge is compressed until the port 98 reaches a position where it opens the delivery port 70, so that a compressed charge in the pump expands a little into the passages '70 and '72. This happens when the piston has made about twothirds or three-fourths of its compression-stroke, so that in the final compression of the charge, by means of the remainder of the pistonestroke, its pressure does not reach an excessively high point. If desired, the passage may be provided with a pocket-portion or enlargement 99, to increase its capacity, so as to decrease the power of the pump, or kee down the final pressure of the compressed charge. "When the engine-piston reaches the bottom of the stroke, the highly compressed charge enters the engine and instantly displaces the burned gases.

'It will be seen that by opening and closing said.

' manifold throttle in the usual way, flexibility of.

the engine operation may be secured. On the other hand, when the throttle is wide open, the engine may be run at high speed, since the. pumppistons 52, 53 will force charges into the inosculated cylinders at sufiicient pressure and speed.

its pitman hubs connected thereto. Moreover, the reciprocating parts 52, 54, 54 of the pump tend to counter-balance the reciprocating parts 23. 24:, 25 of the engine. The same is true in respect to the crank 58, etc., which tends to'counter- Smooth running may Themernbers 27, 28, 29, 46, i7, 56, 58 of the crank-shaft may be made'in one piece, which may be cut down from a single heavy shaft. The pitmans 25 may beslipped onto the wrists 27, 28, or rather upon the bushings 48. The ends oi the crank-wrists may be set into sockets formed in the end fiy-wheels 46 which are integral with the end-shafts 29; and set-screws may be em- .ployed for holding the wrists 27, 28' rigidly connected to the members 46.

Said members 46, as well as the members 7, may be shaped to help counterbalance the wrist-pins 2'7, 28 and their belongings; and extra counterbalancing rim- 4 segments may be secured upon the members 46.

' Preferably-27 and 28 are each jointed at '78. The end of 27 is reduced and set into a socket 78 formed on the end of wrist-section '78 which is formed upon wheel 46, and aneccentric ally-. placed screw afi secures' them.

ports 86, extending upwardly andoutwardly fro-in the shaft-bearings, and carrying at their outer ends two substantially similar sloping beds- 87, one for eachrow'of' the engine-heads seen at. Figure 5, the latter being fastened down upon 1 the beds byfi-anges 87 and bolts 88. These four engine-heads maybe substantially similar one to another for economical manufacture, and areplaced in the echelonarrangernent seen, to agree with the described arrangement of thepfrtmans. 25 and the,-eccentric-straps;54. The eccentric straps may be-isecured upon the eccentricin any suitable way, as by joining their ends.

If desired, separate carburetors maybe provided. one leading to each pump; or one carburetor may supply a group of the pumps, if desired, to avoid having two or more pumps drawing from the carburetor simultaneously. Or a carburetor may be employed which has a double outlet, one part leading to one group of pumps and the other leading tothe other group, to avoid overlapping of intake.

Back-firing dangers are minimized or avoided, since when any engine-cylinder has its inlet-ports open, its outlet-port is also open, and moreover the associated pump-piston closes the passage 70, thus shutting off communication while intake 59 is open and preventing ignition of gas mixture in the manifold and carburetor.

Cooling water may be supplied to the engineheads through branch pipes 90 each delivering to adjacent engine-heads; and the heated water may beled off-through delivery pipe 91.

So long as the rows of engine-heads are evenly spaced, the engine may be made with either more or less than the number of rows shown; as for example with four rows spaced at i5 degrees, or five rows at 36 degrees, or 8' rows at 22 degrees.

In'Figures 6 to 9, the engines are provided with six pairs of inosculated cylinders, making three rows, which are set at an angle of sixty degrees to one another. The engine-heads are in most respects the same as above described, and each head includes two engine-cylinders and one pump. The pumps. are supplied from carburetor 93 and manifold 100, the latter having a somewhat helical direction, as indicated at Figure 8, and lying between the two adjoining engine-heads in each row. Its helical direction corresponds with the echelon arrangement of the engineheads. Themanifold. is contiguous to the two pumps in each row, and has at suitable intervals orifices 101 in its opposite sides, to open into chests l02provided upon the pumps, each chest having a port 59 to supply the charge to the It will-be understood that the six engine-heads may be similar (exceptfor the positions of the exhaust-orifices), or they may be made right and left. Three engine-beds 104 formed radially in the crank-case are similar to one another, and any two engine-heads can be placed end to end upon any bed, if they are provided with exhaustports upon the proper side.

Upon each of the crank-shafts, Figures 7 and 9 are six pitmans 25, two for each engine-head;

the engine-heads of Figure 9 being those seen in the top row, Figures 6 and '7, and the. other engine-heads having positions a littleiforward or a little in rear, to agree with the positions of the pitmansuponthe two wrists 2'7 and 28. Each eccentric 56, 58 has likewisethree pitmans side by side, extending to the three pumps, which have an echelon arrangement agreeing with the engine-cylinders. 1

Witha two-inch piston-stroke, and a total capacity of about 40 cubic inches,.the compact engine at Figure 9, running at say 4,006 revolutions per minute, is capable. of driving automobiles of. the smaller. sizes now popular in this country, at acceptably high speed, with good starting and hill-climbing ability, owing to the provision for six explosions .per. crank-shaft revolution.

i The eig htrcylinder engine seen at Figure 3, with a. total capacity of say fifteen cubic inches, andrunningat 4,,000 revolutions per minute, will be capable of driving at forty miles .anhour the smaller automobiles which are popular in Europe.

The engine-shaft may have a rearward extension 147, carrying a drive-pulley 148 for fan-belt 1&9, and also carrying anignition timer 150. The fan 151 is carried upon a countershaft 152 having fan-belt pulley 153, and also having cooling-water pump 154 and generator 155. The countershaft may be mounted in a bracket 156, carrying at its rear end the radiator 157, and at its forward end fixed to the engine-block. y l

The engine-headsmay be water jacketed as at 160, and the engine-caps 161 may be jacketed at 162. To give ample Water-space the cap jacket ing may be made over-size, and fastened upon flanges 163 provided upon the engine-heads. The engine-beds 87 or 104 may be cast integral with a crank-case 164 and its internal struts 86, etc. The oil-pan 165 may be' provided with internal troughs 166, 167, immersed in oil, and underlying the revolving disks or wheels 46, 4'I,'Which may pick up the oil from the troughs and whirl it into the open ends of the engineand pump cylinders. The disks may have shallow peripheral teeth 168 to pick up the oil; and some of the disks may have chutes 169 to direct the oil as desired. The engine-outlets 5'? may open-into conduits 1'70, leading to manifolds 171. The top row of engine-heads at Figures 6, 7 is seen at Figures 8, 9. marked 52*, 58 The engine embodies improvements upon the engine disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No, 356,381, filed April 19, 1929, (now Patent No. 1,851,547, dated March 29, 1932).

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improve ments may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A high-speed automobile-engine of the flexible class having a crank-shaft, six pairs of inosculated cylinders provided with'pistons; said crank-shaft having diametrically opposite wrists, the pistons in each pair being connected to the same wrist, and the pairs of pistons beingmutually balanced, the' cylinders, pistons and crankshaft being organized for efiecting six evenlyspaced explosions at each revolution of the shaft, one piston in each pair controlling the intake and the other controlling the'exhaust, the cylinders having ports opened at the conclusions of the explosion-strokes, and six charging pumps driven by the engine for supplying mixed air and fuel under high initial compression to the pairs of cylinders to displace burned gases, said pumps being reciprocated by said shaft and including a different pump for each pair of engine-cylinders, said crank-shaft having two pump-wrists coincident with the engine-wrists, each pump-piston traveling oppositely from its associated engine-pistons, to balance the same, the engine and pump cylinders forming three rows spaced at sixty degrees, each row having two pairs of enginecylinders and two pumps between said pairs, each The pump-pistons in this row are cally opposite, each pump-cylinder having inlet and delivery ports closed by the pump-piston in alternation in correspondence with the strokes of the associated engine-pistona'each pump-piston being connected to move always oppositely to its engine-pistons, and each pump delivery port being closed by its piston during the main portion of its intake stroke, and the pump intake port being continually closed by the pump-piston while said engine-ports are open, to avoid liability of ignition of the mixed air and fuel being fed to the pump. '3. The combination of inosculated engine-cylinders, one having an inlet port and the other having an exhaust port, engine-pistons, a crankshaft having a wrist connected to said pistons, and a pump of corresponding cubic displacement With the engine-cylinders, said shafts having a diametrically opposed wrist connected to a piston in said pump, the latter having intake and delivery ports and constructed to supply a measured charge to the engine-cylinders compressed to a high initial pressure at the opening of the intake and exhaust ports of the engine, the exhaust port being formed to remain open while said charge continues to expand in the engine, after the closing of the engine inlet port, thereby displacing additional burned gas from the engine.

4. A two-cycle high-speed engine having a crank-shaft provided with diametrically-opposed engine-wrists, a row of pairs of inosculated englue-cylinders, one cylinder having an inlet port and the other an exhaust port, and pistons controlling said ports and Working in said cylinders, each pair of engine-cylinders being provided with a pump having a piston whose cubic displacement is about equal to the aggregate displacement of the engine-pistons, each pump-piston connected to one of said shaft-wrists to be driven thereby always oppositely from the associated pair of engine-pistons, each pump having an inlet port opened by its piston at the final portion of the intake stroke, the engine-pistons in each pair opening their exhaust and inlet ports at the final portion of the delivery stroke of the associated pump-piston, each pump cylinder having a delivery port closed by the piston, and the pumppiston having a port at its inner end to open said delivery port, said pump piston having a longitudinal passage from its port to the main pump chamber, the engine exhaust port opening in advanceof the engine inlet port, and both said engine-ports being fully open at the same time.

5. A two-cycle high-speed engine having a twothrow crank-shaft provided with ,four diametrically-opposed engine-wrists, three rows of engine-cylinders and pumps, one row at an angle of sixty degrees to another, each row having two pairs of cylinders and two pumps, the cylinders in each'pair being inosculated, one cylinder having an inlet port and the other an exhaust port, pairs of pistons controlling said ports and working in said cylinders, there being two six-piston engine wrists and two three-piston pump wrists, eachpair of engine-cylinders being provided with a pump having a piston whose cubic displacement is about equal to the aggregate displacement of the engine-pistons, the pump-pistons being connected to opposite shaft-wrists to be driven thereby always oppositely from the associated engine-pistons, and balancing the same,

each pump having an inlet port opened by its piston at the final portion of the intake stroke,

each pump arranged to deliver a measured com-' pressed charge to said engine-cylinders to expand' therein to substantially clear the cylinder of burned gases, each pair of engine-pistons opening their exhaust and inlet ports at the final portion of the discharge stroke of the associated pump-piston, each pump cylinder having a delivery port closed by the piston, and the pumppiston having a port at its inner end to open said delivery port, said pump-piston having a longitudinal passage from its port to the main 

